johnson-chart.gif (GIF Image, 1108x1581 pixels) - Scaled (37%)

johnson-chart.gif (GIF Image, 1108x1581 pixels) - Scaled (37%)

The Quiet Coup

Economics and Politics - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Economics and Politics - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com: "[The graph shows] discount rates in the US, Britain, and Germany in the late 20s and early 30s, and highlights the way attempts to defend the gold standard led to perverse monetary policies"

The Geithner plan, as viewed from Oz — Crooked Timber

The Geithner plan, as viewed from Oz — Crooked Timber: "What does the Geithner plan mean for Australia? On the whole, it is probably a positive. The fact that it is a bad deal for US taxpayers is less important to us than the magnitude of the stimulus involved. And the decline of confidence in the US dollar, while not helpful to exporters competing with US suppliers, will probably make allow the Australian government, and Australian banks, to borrow on more favorable terms.

The biggest risk is that the failure of the plan could discredit the Obama Administration and produce a leadership vacuum. That would be a disaster for the entire world. The US led us into this mess, and, like it or not, the US must lead us out."

Interactive Map: More Job Losses in Every State

Interactive Map: More Job Losses in Every State: CAP’s got a nifty interactive map showing the rising unemployment on a state-by-state basis.

Economic Indicators by Report Date and Reporting Body

Economic Indicators by Report Date and Reporting Body: "Economic indicators are those important, mysterious numbers that get reported almost every day, but are somehow not put into context very often. Here are some of the most useful ones, listed twice: first by their reporting date in a typical month, and second by their reporting organization."

I - Indicators by Approximate Monthly Reporting Date

Links are to external sites; also see the second list, below, for glossary links to additional information about the indicators themselves.

M	T	W	T	F
	FOMC Meeting (every 6 weeks)			Unemployment Rate
		Consumer Sentiment Index	Retail Sales	PPI
CPI		Balance of Trade	Manufacturers' Orders
New Home Sales	Consumer Confidence Index		Quarterly GDP (Apr-Jul-Oct-Jan)

II - Indicators by Reporting Body

Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis	Gross Domestic Product Balance of Trade
Bureau of the Census	Manufacturers' Orders Retail Sales New Home Sales
Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics	Unemployment Rate Producer Price Index Consumer Price Index
The Conference Board	Consumer Confidence Index
University of Michigan	Consumer Sentiment Index

Matthew Yglesias » Home Page

Matthew Yglesias » Home Page: "why on earth would anyone believe that Ricardian equivalence holds?"

Helicopter Ben finally hauls out the helicopter :: The Curious Capitalist - TIME.com

Helicopter Ben finally hauls out the helicopter :: The Curious Capitalist - TIME.com: "As the federal government issues trillions in new debt to finance stimulus spending and the daily operations of government, the quasi-governmental Fed will now be buying hundreds of billions of it, in the process creating new money out of thin air (the Fed doesn't actually have money set aside to buy stuff; when it buys something, the money suddenly, magically exists).

It's a very weird, somewhat circular transaction, and it was last done in a big way during World War II. At the time the Fed wasn't so much making monetary policy as doing its patriotic bit to finance the war (it was a de facto division of the Treasury Department at the time), but it worked on both counts: The deflationary tendencies of the 1930s were finally fully expunged from the economy, and we beat the bad guys. Later on, Milton Friedman described this kind of transaction as the functional equivalent of a 'helicopter drop' of money, and after Ben Bernanke mentioned this in a speech in 2002 he became known as Helicopter Ben. Now he's finally living up to the name."